Just like most of my other assignments this year, I postponed writing this article as long as possible.  I browsed the Internet, watched Friends reruns, and even cleaned my room.  But as I began to click through old photos on my computer to distract myself, I realized that delaying this article represents less of a typical Marymount senior’s procrastination techniques and more of a denial that it’s time to finally say goodbye.  I sat there somewhat stunned, skimming through all of my high school memories and realizing that four years flies by. Fast.

I still remember sitting in the Chapel on Move-In Day during freshmen year, getting used to the foreign pinch of my penny loafers and wondering which of the girls surrounding me would become my new friends.  I remained fearful of the block schedule that utterly confused me, and I worried about getting lost while walking from Butler to Cantwell.  I didn’t know it then, but Marymount would become a place of comfort and familiarity over the next four years.  My loafers would eventually mold to fit my feet, the schedule would become second nature, and I would learn about the campus shortcuts. I would eventually leave behind the cluelessness of freshman year and adopt the air of confidence that cloaks the members of the senior class.  Over the past four years, I watched my class grow closer together and turn into independent, responsible, and promising individuals.  As seniors, my classmates and I have evolved from the girls who simply wear the uniform to the girls that passionately debate the functionality of certain mandatory items of clothing.  We possess opinions about everything, and we enjoy walking around campus like we own the place. This transformation seemed to happen slowly, until all at once, high school ended, leaving me scratching my head and trying to grasp the fact that the most talented, kind, intelligent, and beautiful group of girls I know will no longer accompany me to class every single day.

Calling yourself a senior definitely carries a “cool factor,” but approaching the end of four amazing years also leaves you with a bittersweet reminder that nothing lasts forever.  It’s hard to comprehend that next year I will not wear a uniform or pile my hair on top of my head in some semblance of a ponytail before class.  Saying goodbye to my normal Marymount routine is bizarre, to say the least, but the reality of leaving it all behind hit me even harder as I experienced each of the “lasts” that make up senior year. I danced during the last Spirit Week and Prom and cried during the last retreat, Mother-Daughter luncheon, and school Mass. I cheered at the end of my last AP test and laughed with my friends on the last day of school.  But through all of this, I couldn’t help regretting the end of four incredible years.  Like I said before, four years flies by, so if I could leave one piece of advice for the underclassmen, I would say this: enjoy it

Enjoy your somewhat successful Spirit Week dance rehearsals and the days that you have free dress and the times that the admissions office provides Diddy Riese cookies left over from Open House.  Celebrate the feminist guest speakers who point out the talents and gifts you must share with this world.  Value the teachers who challenge you when you think you’re right, and treasure the girls who make each class more interesting.  Love the good and the bad.  Relish every second of a never-ending Community or a long line at the Café.  Savor all five billion “lost iPhone” emails that you receive each day.  Appreciate the squirrels that ate your lunch bag freshman year.  Praise the friends who hug you after a devastatingly difficult math test.  Delight in every corny or touching or once-in-a-lifetime moment that you experience at Marymount because each of those instances make high school worth it.

I look forward to the surprises and excitements of college life, but I will never forget the incredible memories I made with the truly unique people I met at Marymount.  From wearing gold leggings during freshman year Spirit Week to playing a giant game of hide and seek on the last day of senior year, the class of 2015 provided me with endless laughs and remarkable friendship.  I will miss you all, but I can’t wait to hear about all of the life-altering discoveries and groundbreaking accomplishments that lie in our future.  For now, it’s on to the next chapter.